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Before you write one ad or pay someone else to do so, it is imperative that you not only know who your target market is, but you know them.  What do they like, what do they dislike, what do they need, and how can you fulfill those needs?  Those are just some of the questions you’ll need to ask before you can sell to them.

Defining Your Target Market

This is one of the first steps an aspiring Internet marketer must take.  No matter how great your product is, you must know who it is intended for before you will be able to successfully market it.  Once you define your target market, you’ll then be able to develop strategies for reaching them and selling to them.  First things first, however.

Suppose you’re selling a product to parents.  Are these parents of grown children or 2-year olds?  Are they parents of special needs children?  Are they parents of children that go to public school, private school, or perhaps they are parents that homeschool their children?  Do one or both of these parents work outside the home?  How much money do they make?  Where do they live?

The questions can truly go on for pages but you do need to ask them and you do need to answer them in order to effectively define your target market.  You can’t hope to reach your target market until it is clearly defined.  Knowing your target market will help you to tailor your offers to meet their needs.  If your target market doesn’t make much money, they may be looking for ways to save a buck any way they can.  On the other hand, if your target market is so busy they can’t see straight, convenience is going to win them over.

Go Where Your Target Market Is

Now that you know who your target market is, it is time to reach them.  How do you go about this?  The simple answer is to go where they are.  For instance, if you are marketing to parents, go to websites where parents hang out.  Post in forums where other parents post and establish yourself as an expert in your niche.  Before long, other parents will be turning to you for answers.

If you haven’t started a blog yet, it’s not too late.  Also, read other blogs in your niche and comment when appropriate.  Of course, wherever it is allowed, be sure to include a link back to your website at the end of your forum posts and blog comments.

If you’re marketing to parents, make sure your website is optimized for what parents are going to be searching for.  Then, offer something for free in exchange for a name and email address.  This will let you connect with these parents on a regular basis and you can develop an email marketing campaign as well.

To summarize, know who your customers are, or potential customers, and know where they hang out.  Then make them an offer they can’t refuse!

 Cheers,

Carlo Selorio

Popularity: 43% [?]

 If you’re already using video as part of your online marketing strategies then you no doubt realize the value of this medium.  Read on, though, to ensure you are taking full advantage of the power of video.  If you haven’t yet included video as part of your overall marketing strategy, why not?  If it’s because you don’t own a video camera, do everything in your power to rent or borrow one.  You will notice the boost in profits and then you’ll be able to purchase your own in no time at all.  Let’s look at some ways that video can enhance your online business.

Video Tutorials

Video tutorials are hot and will likely remain hot for some time to come.  People are always looking for ways to do something, or ways to do something better, faster, or cheaper.  If your own product can be demonstrated using the power of video, that’s even better.  Not only can you demonstrate how your product works but you can demonstrate why your product is better than the competition’s.  If your product requires assembly, you could boost your profits by showing how easy it is to put together.  On the other hand, if it is not particularly easy to assemble, your video could provide a valuable resource for your customers.  Any way you look at it, showing your product in action can be a valuable asset that will serve to increase your bottom line.

Even if you don’t have your own product, there is still a lot you can do with video tutorials.  You can demonstrate how other products work.  There is always someone looking for answers regarding popular products.  Maybe you’re a whiz at unclogging vacuum cleaners or changing your own oil.  Think about what you do well and consider making a video demonstrating your own talents.  If you’re a computer geek, make that talent pay off by producing short videos of how to solve common problems or how to do certain tasks in popular computer software programs.

Video Testimonials

Video testimonials are far more powerful than the written word simply because we’re never sure who really wrote those words.  If you have customers who are happy with your goods or services, consider asking them to provide a video testimonial to add to your website.  If they have their own website and can include that in their testimonial that will lend even more credibility to the testimonial and give them a free plug as well.  That creates a win/win situation for both you and your customers and can serve as a powerful marketing strategy.

Brainstorm

Do some brainstorming yourself to see how you can enhance your marketing campaigns and your website with the power of video.  It really doesn’t matter what your product or service is; the power of video can almost always enhance your promotional efforts.  Do this: Start looking at every website you go to with fresh eyes.  Does the website include video? What kind? Could you do something similar or better yet, could you produce a video that includes other components?  When you start actively studying the video you see on other websites, you’ll discover new and exciting ways to promote yourself and your products.  While you don’t want to be a copycat, you can certainly get some basic ideas from these videos.  Then produce fresh, exciting videos of your own and you’ll be amazed at the difference!
 

Popularity: 47% [?]

It’s been awhile since I’ve written here because of the fact that I’ve been focusing on different markets rather than the Internet Marketing arena.

Why am I doing that? well its easier to get ranked and recognized in smaller markets by simply putting quality articles and promote specific and dominate in the longtail keywords for more lucrative markets since most people don’t know all the the internet marketing tactics that we markets use.

I’ve come to realize that you can earn more by really being targeting hungry ready to buy markets who are ready and willing to part money just to get ahead in their niche as long as you solve eactly what they want and provide value to what you are promoting and selling. That’s it!

Here are some basic principles to really get going and earning money in your niche:

1. Have a specific goal in what you want to achieve. Once you have figured what you want then its easier to map out your success.

2. What does your market want and how can I give it to them? By asking this question getting specific answers it helps you identify different mediums you can target and profit as soon as possible.

3. Who are your main competitors and what are they doing? By checking the Google and search engines the top 10 sites, you analyze what their doing and do things better than them.

4. Create quality content and products that solves and helps your readers and potential customers. You will quickly get recognized as an authority in your niche if you provide what exactly your readers wants.

This are some tips to dominate a market right away that can help you earn money straight away. Keep going and never give up.

Cheers,

Carlo Selorio

Popularity: 41% [?]

Every successful Internet marketer knows how important it is to choose just the right niche in order to create a successful Internet marketing empire.  After all, you don’t want to just hawk products; you want to establish yourself as an expert.  In order to do this, you must select a niche that you know something about and can talk about with an air of authority.  While there are numerous opportunities to sell or market almost anything you can imagine on the Internet, you’re likely to achieve far greater success if you can involve yourself with something that means something to you in some way.

What do You Care About?

While you don’t have to absolutely love the niche in which you decide to market, if you are passionate about it, that passion will show through in everything you do.  On the other hand, if you don’t have some affinity for your niche and are just trying to sell product, that will surely show through also and will cost you in the end.  So the key is to build your marketing around something that touches you personally in some way.

Start by taking inventory of your own likes and dislikes.  Then dig deeper.  For example, say you are absolutely passionate about dogs.  However, when you do a Google search, you discover that there are more than 200 million websites already in place for dogs.  You realize that you’re unlikely to have your website in the top search results with so much competition already in business so what can you do?  Here is where you start digging. 

Dig Deep

What is it about dogs that you like so much?  Is there a certain breed that you feel close to?  Perhaps you’re a dog breeder yourself.  Or maybe your dog has a disease or condition that you’ve had to pay close attention to.  Maybe your dog even requires a special diet.  Once you identify what it is about dogs that you feel passionate about, you’re ready to start narrowing your choices for a niche market.

It works the same way with any subject.  Maybe you like toys.  Plug the word "toys" into Google or any other search engine and you’ll once again be met with millions of webpage results.  Narrow the field, however, and you’ll discover that there is indeed, room for one more.  And it might as well be you.  Just like we drilled down with the subject of dogs, do the same thing with toys.  There are toys for adults and toys for kids.  Electronic games, board games, outside toys, educational toys; the list goes on and on.

What if you’re already marketing a product and now you need to find a niche for it to fit in?  You can do this and many marketers do; however, it is still better to build your marketing empire around something that you already care about.  Still, sometimes we have to start where we are and if you already have products you’re trying to sell, you can still develop a niche around them.  The important thing is to establish yourself as an expert so that others will turn to you for information and products when they are in the market for what you are selling.

Popularity: 55% [?]

 All successful Internet marketers understand that they must be constantly focused on growing their online business. While making passive income is certainly a goal to strive for, it just doesn’t happen overnight and doesn’t happen at all for many Internet marketers. That’s because trends are constantly changing and in order to be successful, you and your site must change with them. For example, you’ve likely heard the term Search Engine Optimization or SEO, which simply means making sure the search engines find your site by optimizing your site so that it ranks as high in the search engine results as possible.  While SEO is important, it certainly isn’t the only aspect of marketing to be concerned with and besides, just because your site is optimized this month, doesn’t mean it will be next month.

Driving traffic to your site or your blog is another phrase every Internet marketer is concerned about, and rightly so. But you must go further than that. What is this "traffic" going to do once they get to your site? Are you targeting your traffic or are you just trying to drive any old traffic to your site? The point is, unless you are working toward driving targeted traffic to your site, you can have a traffic jam on your website and still make no sales. For example, if you are selling specialty dog food and your visitors are looking for dollhouses, how long do you think they will spend at your site? Less than 2 seconds, which is all it takes to click the big red X or press the back button on their browser.

It’s important for you to know who your target audience is before you try to sell to them. Who is your product meant for and how will you find these people? If you’re selling specialty dog food, your target audience is obviously dog owners. Don’t stop there though. What kind of dog do they own? Is this the kind of dog food owners buy to pamper their pooches or is it the kind of dog food their dogs need to eat in order to stay healthy? See what I mean?  You absolutely must know who you are marketing to BEFORE you start marketing. Once you know your target audience, you’ll know where to find them.

Once you find them, treat them like royalty. Over promise and over deliver are two things I always tell people. Always deliver more than you promise and give them more than they ever expect. This is how you keep a customer for life. Competition is keen and if you don’t give your customers what they want, someone else will. Most businesses depend on repeat customers in order to succeed. Give your customers a reason to come back and you’ll build a loyal customer base. Growing an online business takes time, but with a little effort, no, make that a LOT of effort, you can build the online business of your dreams!
 

Popularity: 61% [?]